The United Arab Emirates has reportedly warned that it could withdraw billions of pounds in UK investment unless Manchester City is cleared of allegations involving financial misconduct.
Andy Burnham is facing pressure to repair relations with the Gulf state after saying he would be “really concerned” if the club’s Abu Dhabi-backed owners chose to sell their stake.
The remarks prompted an awkward retreat from the Prime Minister, with Downing Street later stressing that no football club was “above the rules”.
The controversy follows findings that Manchester City had allegedly misrepresented finances worth around £900million over a nine-year period.
Investigators said the period included a series of “sham” commercial arrangements, during which City emerged as the dominant force in English football and collected eight major trophies between 2009 and 2018.
In a highly critical 40-page ruling, the club was accused of artificially inflating sponsorship income and routing additional funds from its Abu Dhabi owners through concealed payments. The alleged strategy was intended to bypass Premier League spending regulations.
Manchester City was found guilty of all but one of the 115 financial misconduct charges brought against it.
The Premier League could impose a range of penalties, including expulsion, a transfer ban or points deductions. A separate hearing to determine any sanctions is expected to take place in due course.
Andy Burnham is seen with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2019 when the PM was then the mayor of Greater Manchester
Mr Al Mubarak is pictured arriving in Downing Street on September 14, 2026
The Premier League club has confirmed that it intends to appeal the guilty verdicts.
Now, according to a report, the UAE has threatened to remove billions of pounds in UK investment unless Manchester City is cleared of the financial misconduct allegations.
Emirati officials are said to have warned that “the Premier League’s actions” could “have an influence on the bilateral state relationship”.
The Telegraph reports that the UAE is considering cancelling billions of pounds of private investment earmarked for a technology hub between Oxford and Cambridge, designed to mirror California’s Silicon Valley.
The report also says Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak met Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at Downing Street two weeks before the Premier League announced its verdict.
Mr Burnham is understood not to have attended the meeting. However, it comes as the Prime Minister faces questions over his alleged “cosy relationship” with Manchester City and its wealthy UAE-based owners, according to The Times.
The newspaper said Mr Al Mubarak took part in the discussions as chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, rather than in his capacity as chairman of the football club.
Downing Street has said Mr Burnham has not met Manchester City’s owners since becoming Prime Minister in July.
City’s head coach Pep Guardiola, right, and Mr Al Mubarak celebrate with the Premier League trophy on May 19, 2024
Despite the scrutiny, the Prime Minister described Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Ltd (ADUG) as “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”, highlighting the millions of pounds the company has invested in the city.
Opposition parties are now calling on Mr Burnham to declare his links to City.
Conservative shadow sport minister Louie French had accused Mr Burnham of ‘publicly backing the owners’ amid a probe into the club’s funding over recent years, describing his comments as ‘frankly extraordinary’.
On Thursday, Downing Street insisted the guilty verdict against City is ‘serious’, after Mr Burnham was accused of making a ‘frankly extraordinary’ intervention in support of the football club’s owners.
A No10 spokesman issued the statement after the Prime Minister said he would be ‘really concerned’ to see the current owners sell up.
Asked by the BBC earlier this week if he was worried about the current owners selling the club, Mr Burnham said: ‘I would be really concerned to lose them.
‘They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is’.
Asked also if his dealings with the club would stand up to scrutiny, he said: ‘I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad and the campus around it but also into the city – but yes, of course.’
City were found guilty of charges related to breaches of financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.
The Premier League said an independent commission found City arranged ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were required to pay only a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The commission found that the remainder was funded by ADUG, which owned the club.
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